#we're going to be in this dumb spiral for A While

[comediakaidanovsky]

[ turtleneck chants increasing ]

[murdrdocs]

drunk reader; drunk and sad girl trope; reader is taken advantage of (but consensually?); DARK(er) CONTENT AHEAD MDNI 18+ w/ ART DONALDSON & PATRICK ZWEIG

your date had gone poorly. it was obvious over the phone when you called art, begging him to come pick you up through sniffles and harsh dismissals of "i'm fine". you only managed to get art off of the phone by telling him that you were running out of minutes, but he was at the restaurant not long after, pulling up with patrick in the passenger seat.

and they wouldn't leave you alone. they wouldn't turn the radio up and drown out your sniffles and poorly masked sobs with music. patrick kept turning around to look at you and art kept sneaking glances in the rear view mirror. they were worried sick, so it was only natural that they began damage control when they got to your place.

patrick on alcohol duty. art on therapist duty.

patrick peddled drink after drink into your hand at your request with no concern for how much you were drinking. he only began to care when your words slurred, only then did he take the drinks out of your hand and put them out of reach, downing a few himself or passing them to art.

you weren't drunk, that's what he kept telling himself as he let his eyes roam over your body, eyesight dipping to get a glimpse of your cleavage when you would lean over to try to reach for another drink. when he let his hand fall to your thigh, it was to tether you back to here, keeping you from spiraling into your recollection of how bad the date went. that's all.

meanwhile, art was hearing you out. his features softened into an understanding pout while he listened to you detail every single thing about the date. the people sitting around you, the menu options, the horrible jokes your date made.

he sat there wondering how you could go out with a guy like that. wondering why you were even excited to see the guy in the first place because no matter how often you repeat yourself, claiming you didn't even want that guy that much anyway, art knows.

he remembers how giddily you called him earlier in the afternoon, ready to turn down his suggestions to hang out because you were busy. you had a date, and you said it like it was the best thing to ever happen to you. he can't help but feel a little glad that your date went wrong, especially when you bury your head in his neck and let him caress your back while you cry off even more of your makeup.

you're so soft. so warm. so pliant from the mix of alcohol, sadness, and comfortability in this moment.

earlier that afternoon, when the call to art became a three way call with patrick, there was a joke made. a sly, "if you come home drunk and sad we're gonna take advantage of you" from patrick's lips.

you rolled your eyes at the time, scoffing and exclaiming, "gross!" at your friend's obscenity. art had acted on your defense, chastising patrick while trying to clear the image out of his head.

and patrick was quick to apologize, assuring that he didn't mean it. "it's a joke!" said over and over again above the sound of your rejection and art's protection meddling together.

and it had been a joke at the time. they would never do that to you. but there's something here, some vibe that's unexplainable through the maze of hormones running throughout all of you. for some reason, when you lift your head from art's neck, wipe under your eyes, and look between art and patrick, they consider it.

they only take a moment to think about it when you tell them, "take advantage of me," the words spoken clearly. meticulously. soberly.

so they do.

they don’t have to kiss you stupid. you’re already dumbed down when art presses his lips to yours. it doesn’t take any coaxing at all for you to part your legs for patrick.

they’ve never seen you this compliant. after being used to your eye rolls and jokes at their expense, they started to figure that’s what you would be like in bed. patrick believed you would be bossy, telling him what to do. art didn’t mind the thought, not when patrick painted a picture for him. but art likes how he’s able to tell you what to do.

he likes that when he tells you to lift your hands above your head, you do. he likes that you lay back when he tells you to. he likes that you wrap your lips around his cock when he presents it in front of your face.

it’s nearly impossible to tell that you had even been saving yourself for another man when they have you like this. when you’re on your hands and knees, taking patrick from the back and art from the front, it’s absurd to even believe that you wanted to fuck a completely different man tonight.

they’re making you feel good. they’re making you feel better than your lousy date could’ve ever dreamed of. they’re fucking the thoughts out of your mind, replacing the horrors of your night with something pleasurable. something to make it all worth it.

because if you hadn’t gone out tonight, you never would’ve met the guy who made you cry. if you hadn’t dolled yourself up earlier, your efforts never would’ve looked prettier coming off of you than it did going on you.

it’s all a beautiful display of the butterfly effect. not that any of you are thinking about that while you’re drunkenly slobbering on arts dick with lazy eyes, attempting to fuck yourself back onto patrick all the while.

[lowkeyrobin]

Curious about MCYT with a partner that's usually calm and collected, suddenly being super angry at someone bothering them, maybe almost fighting the person brothering them? (Btw i really love your writing, it's super fun to read!!)

ooooo okay !! I see the vision, hopefully I pulled it off LMAO ; also thank you so much!! that means so much to me, I feel like my writings really corny and dumb sometimes and too boring so thank you, it means a lot to me 🫶🫶🫶

MCYT ; fire in the twilight

includes ; tommyinnit, ranboo, badlinu, nihachu, & quackity

warnings ; language, talk about SA/perverts/men being weird

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

you're a very calm person

but when you get mad you get maddddd

he's surprised you haven't beaten the shit out of him yet

someone was being kinda weird at a meet and greet at vidcon and you were already stressed and overstimulated from taking pictures with everyone and signing merch and youtooz (guys should I try buying the slimecicle plushie? I don't wanna support a bad company but he's so cute :()

someone took a picture of you stretching where your shirt lifted a bit and showed off your midsection

Tommy saw and immediately called them out while you were taking a solo pic w a fan

when you heard him you just froze and nearly yelled

"Hey, please delete that. out of your trash too, seriously"

"Dude, fucking delete that shit. that's not okay, actually."

you end up nearly beating the shit out of the person....

then comes the Twitch apology 😭😭

you nearly went into a spiral explaining that it's never okay to take photos of ppl without them knowing, no matter when or where

he feels really bad for you but you're able to sit down and calm down to your usual self 🫶🫶🫶

RANBOO

you were getting fed up with how people were treating you and them online and just kinda lost it on stream

your chat was filled with assholes wondering where people were and why you hadn't publicly talked to them in over 12 hours and what your plans with everything were etc etc

"Dude, please stop. all of you. for weeks this has been going on, stop putting me and ranboo on these pedestals and expecting shit from us. seriously, it's horrible for both of us and our health. if you wanna see Tubbo or Tommy, go watch them! they're both live right now. Seriously, it's not funny and it's not gonna make us pump out more content and do what you want. we're people too, we get sad and burned out and tired. eventually content creation gets unfun and you won't get what you want. behave yourselves and do better. we don't owe you anything"

ranboo literally tears up a bit because he was watching the stream in the other room and could hear you, and you were visibly tearing up

you could feel your hands shaking and you just kind of ended the stream because you were so worked up and didn't wanna do it anymore

he immediately wrapped you in a hug because you were just so angry

gave you a pillow to punch and left you be for a while

you're usually very calm but your emotions exploded when you were bottling it up too much

they understood that but their heart bled for you after that, especially w all the hate that came from it :/

FREDDIE BADLINU

people were throwing things at you on stage during Tommy's live show

you played it off as jokes and were fine with jt because they were doing it sneakily in a fun way, roses, kandi bracelets, plushies etc, until someone threw their bra at you

"Okay, can we not?" You scrunch your eyebrows, looking into the crowd as you throw the bra back into the crowd. "That's fucked, don't ever do that again, learn event etiquette. never throw your bras on a fucking stage, it's weird and disgusting"

Freddie looks over at you, standing next to Tommy, giving you a "Holy shit are you okay?" look while also looking for the culprit trying to get their bra back

Tommy instantly stopped the show to reprimand the person

meanwhile Freddie was whispering to you to make sure you were okay

you were pissed but put your big kid pants on and continued the show

you apologized on Twitter after the show because you were really loud and kind of humiliated the people but you were justified with the situation

the people (and the girl who owned the bra) apologized and the situation was over

Freddie feels so bad bc you're so calm and laid back but ppl always have to test your limits :(

NIKI NIHACHU

people were filming you two out in public and taking pictures and you kinda lost it that they weren't listening to niki, telling them to kindly stop

"can you stop taking pictures? she's uncomfortable, please stop." you speak in a stern voice

the fans just like stare at you in shock because you're usually very calm and chill and you basically yelled at them (you reprimanded them because one it's the law two you both didn't want to be disturbed on your walk)

you're in a miserable mood the whole way home because yk how twitters gonna act when they see that

you quickly make a statement before any video leaks or anything, addressing the situation and apologizing to the strangers

ppl got ur back tho and showed support considering they were filming you on a nice walk without consent

she feels so bad seeing you get upset about it and feels like it's her fault

lots of reassuring her that it's never her fault and you're always happy to defend her and you don't mind getting a little loud to defend her

ALEX QUACKITY

you got really upset with someone harassing a bunch of creators during the qsmp Brazil meetup

"Dude, leave them alone. they don't want to take a picture with you and they don't owe you anything! you're being creepy to all those women right now, do you not realize that or something?"

you were furious seeing that many on your friends, even while on a trip, couldn't just not be harassed by men

the weirdo scurried off but you were literally this close to fighting the fucker

you were seething dude, like, shaking because you were so astonished someone could actually be that pushy and that much of a dick over a picture

Alex wrapped you in a tight hug and just squeezed you until you calmed down while the poor people who were harassed had reassured you that they were okay and that they appreciated and thanked you for standing up for them

Alex genuinley apologizes because the way you reacted just proved to him that you definitely are calm and laid back but when you got angry, you got angry

he feels so bad because you had to stand up for your friends and watch them be harassed and shit

[polyamorousmood]

Have you ever felt guilty about being polyamourous despite knowing deep down there's nothing wrong with it, but you're overthinking everything??

getting a little personal here

I've been struggling a lot with it lately, being attracted to another person while currently dating someone, knowing it's okay and its an open relationship, and it's just been spiraling so much in my brain as guilt for no reason i hope I'm not alone in that

of course, though mostly when I was in monogamous relationships, if I'm being honest. I still get twinges on occasion, butbone of my greater strengths is stopping my brain from spiraling into self-loathing. So. Not a huge problems from me. I do have tips though! Some from recognizing what I do and some from various readings. There's not an order, some of them are incompatible with each other, try a couple and see what works

Affirmations to help you internalize things like "I believe in this as a right for all people, and that has to include myself"

Reframings. So when you catch yourself going "waah! My pArTnEr WiLl fEeL bAd!" You can maybe be like "my partner is my equal. If I hold myself to a ✌ higher ✌ standard than them, I am treating them as an inferior, which is unfair, and will make them feel bad" or you know. Whatever. Frame Polyamory As A Good Thing So That It Can Be One, basically. What does your partner GAIN from polyamory? How is your life BETTER from polyamory?

Politely detach from the spiral. You're not stopping it, necessarily, but it's not you. It's that toddler that lives in your brain having a temper tantrum, and you're the favorite babysitter standing non-judgementally to the side, waiting it out, and saying "wow, that was a lot. Are you okay? Do you think that's all true? Do you think that's all fair? Do you think a juice box or a nap would help you feel better?" once the waterworks have ended.

Check in regularly with your partner, and trust them. Make a space for them to say something they appreciate and soemthing you could have done differently, take them at their word, and use those words later. I have literally gritted my teeth at myself like like "she SAID the only thing I should do different is text her when I'm coming home. Am I calling her a LIAR? Is that what I've come to?"

Literally say when you're being dumb. "Well. I guess that could be true, in a hell world where Nixon Jr is president and we're all idiots, but I don't think that's the world I'm living in so it really doesn't apply here" and drop it

thank our feelings. You feel strongly about it because you want to do right by your partner! That's good! Thank it for trying to make sure you do that, and explain to your guilt that you have things under control, in so many words. "Thank you, guilt, for trying to make sure I don't betray [partner]'s trust, but they know about it and said it's okay, so you can take a day off"

All very effective. I encourage anyone else who has experience with this to weigh in

[002yb]

More secretary au w/ dickjay + slade

It's not often that Dick is struck so utterly dumb. Blanking out isn't something someone like him can afford, yet there he is at Jason's apartment, absolutely baffled, because Slade Wilson answers the door with Damian balanced casually on his hip.

Dick's scowl is immediate. It prompts a low laugh from Slade, all smug amusement to provoke Dick's ire.

"Richard." Slade greets him. An acknowledgement. A taunt.

"Slade." Dick intones. Disdainful. Petulant.

For the life of him, Dick can't figure out what's happening. He's loathe to believe that this encounter is a coincidence. Either Deathstroke was contracted to harm Jason or the bastard is here to torment Dick. Hell, if this is another attempt to coerce Dick into working with him—

It might work.

With narrowed eyes, Dick turns his attention to Damian. Scrutinizing the tyke because Damian is suspiciously unbothered. While it means that Jason is okay, that there's no immediate danger, it's also a damning indication that Slade isn't a stranger here. He's been around long enough to earn this menacing child's tolerance and begrudging respect.

"You know each other?" Jason asks, shuffling close to Dick in the entry. Using him as a balance as he pulls on his boots. The joy Jason's casual touch and eagerness to get going gives him is severely undercut by the mercenary standing across from them. With Damian. And it occurs to him that Jason doesn't even know; not anymore.

Dick is almost tempted to throw his secrets to the wind. He'll expose what a menace to society Slade and he are if it keeps Jason and Damian safe.

"We're acquainted." Dick grumbles at the same time Slade cheekily says, "We're quiet close."

The scathing look Dick shoots Slade's way has the man smirking. Between catching Dick off guard, then messing with him - Dick is glad one of them is having a good day. It was supposed to be Dick's good day, damn it. He has a date.

Slade's words prompt Jason to startle, looking between the two of them with wide eyes and a slack jaw and no. Fuck no. Dick can see where Jason's thoughts start to wander and it has him turning on Slade with a nasty glower.

"I've been actively recruiting him for work." Slade explains, innocent as can be. A small truce that makes Dick all the more suspicious.

"Oh." Jason says, breathing a small sigh of relief. When he smiles, it's brilliant - sharp and wicked as he teases, "Keep at it, would you? He needs to get out of that pigpen."

"Been trying. Shame to see his talents wasted like that." Slade hums, bouncing Damian up on his hip. He looks at Jason with a small smirk and, to raise Dick's hackles, lightly jokes, "Sell him on me."

"Make him a worthwhile offer." Jason quips, coming to stand beside Slade to take Damian's little hand - pressing a kiss to it and snickering when Damian holds on to kiss his hand back.

"How about I make you part of the offer?" Slade taunts, gaze cutting over Jason's head to watch Dick—a wicked smile at the corner of his lips as Dick visibly bristles at the threat. "That might be a deal he can't refuse, hm?"

"Hah." Jason laughs, humorless, because, as always, Jason is oblivious to the fact Dick would never refuse him. Slade knows it, too. The mercenary knew it from the moment he opened Jason's door to find Dick standing at the doorstep. "You can't leverage me, old man."

Only Slade very much can. He will, too, depending on his mood.

The exchange puts Dick on edge. There's no way Nightwing and Deathstroke won't be having a fucking row over this later.

It's as Dick spirals that Jason throws him for a loop. Again. Because Jason starts going over house rules and expectations and schedules. Talking to Slade like the man will be looking after Damian while they're out, which—what?

"You're babysitting?" Dick asks, dumbfounded.

"It's in my contract." Slade says, looking none too pleased until Damian pats his eye patch. A begrudging, bitten back smile follows as Slade takes Damian's hand to hold and keep still, disconcertingly patient.

It's weird, but there's a familiarity that tells Dick that everything is fine. While Dick doesn't trust Deathstroke, Slade has a fondness for Jason and Damian. It leaves a bad taste in Dick's mouth if only because there's clearly history here that he's not privy to—that he wasn't a part of.

Maybe that's Slade's goal. To make Dick regret not joining him to have gotten to Jason sooner. The crafty bastard.

He laughs despite himself, caught up in the ridiculousness of it all. Slade and him will negotiate later. For now though, Dick glares daggers at the man as Jason drags him out the door.

=========

Just a silly jumble of words and thoughts. It's very rough, sorry! orz But yes, in secretary!AU, Slade is absolutely a fixture in Jason's life and Dick is lowkey high-key pissed about it lol.

Talia hired Slade as an instructor to teach Jason self-defense. Or to find out where his abilities are and to brush up on them.

This is less as a gift to Bruce and more as an assurance that Damian is protected and cared for. //3///

Can't shake the feeling that Slade and Jason fooled around.

No one will ever know if it's because Slade was genuinely charmed by Jason or if Slade was aware and playing a long con against Dick (or both)

Slade being something like an uncle to Damian. He's babysat in the past, though it was a one-off because Jason came back to see Slade teaching Damian how to handle knives or something equally as dangerous for a baby.

Cue Jason v Slade and Slade being wholly unprepared for Jason's paternal wrath. This man gets laid out flat so quick and oh, that's probably when the fooling around starts lbr

Omg also!! Slade purposefully answering the door despite Jason’s protests because it’s Slade’s intention to intimidate the guy taking Jason out hahaha. Then of course Dick answers the door and Slade’s mood goes from ornery to stupidly pleased lol.

[hahaifolded]

Can We Make This Work? (9)

Nanami Kento x POC!Fem Reader x Gojo Satoru (Masterlist) Chapter 9: The Meeting (Previous) (Next) Summary: Nanami defends you. Warnings: Slight Angst

Nanami and you walked side by side, trees lining your path along campus. Much to your dismay, the higher ups had called the both of you into a meeting to see the state of your marriage. As you got closer, the pit in your stomach grew heavier and heavier.

Despite the faint smile on Nanami's face, you weren't sure where you stood with him. With your missions and classes, you hadn't had the chance to see much of your husband lately. These past few weeks must have been a blessing for him and now because of this stupid meeting, he was forced back into his sad reality.

What if he can't hide his disgust?

What if they see right through this?

If they deem me worthless, what's going to happen to my friends... to everyone back home?

You really wished your stomach was churning because of curses right now. That would be easier to deal with.

-- -- --

However, while you were spiraling, Nanami was enjoying the afternoon stroll with you. It's been awhile since he's spent any time with you and honestly, he missed you. You brought a warmth that he didn't realize he needed. So this random meeting with the higher ups was a blessing in disguise for Nanami.

As you two approached the door, Nanami reached for your hand. You looked up, eyes wide, shocked by the sudden contact. He slowly wrapped his hand around yours and shot you a gentle smile.

Today, at this moment, Nanami Kento was your one and only loving husband. He's not the sad man who is looking for his replacement. He's yours and you're his. With your hand in his, he ushered you inside.

But, the minute he stepped inside, his excitement turned into nerves as it finally clicked that he now stood before the higher ups. The same higher ups that constantly put sorcerers at risk. The same higher ups that have tried to kill Yuji countless times. The same higher ups that got Haibara killed. And if you and Nanami aren't careful, you two could be next.

-- -- --

The meeting started out... fine. If you can call ignoring you for almost an hour as fine. Every question was directed to Nanami and his well-being in this marriage.

Questions pertaining to you were also directed to Nanami, but mainly since...

Has she been behaving well?

Has she been satisfactory at her marital duties?

Does she make a good wife?

...they all had to do with your ability to please your husband. You felt your temper rising at every question. The only reason why you were able to hold your tongue was because of your faithful husband. He shut down each and every question by praising you and respecting your privacy. Nanami kept a reassuring grip on your hand, squeezing it every time the higher ups asked a dumb question and rubbing it every time they hummed in acceptance to Nanami's answer. You never realized how good of an actor your husband could be.

And after an excruciating hour of disrespectful questions, it seemed like it was over.

"Well Nanami Kento that was all the questions we had for you, and I'm pleased to hear that she's been good to you," announced a voice. Nanami gripped your hand before thanking the higher ups for this blessed union. He thanked them for their time and made his way to leave with you still in his grip when suddenly,

"Halt!" you both froze, "We're not done yet. Time to ask the Mrs. a question."

Let's get this over with. You turned back around to the face the crowd. This time with Nanami behind you. What more can they possibly want to--

"So when can we expect you with child?"

You entire body went cold. Expect? You? With child? FUCK! I'm trying to free this man, not chain him further to me, you thought. You stood there gasping for air, unsure on what to say. Thankfully, your husband came to your rescue.

"Excuse me, but how dare you?" he hissed at the voice. Gasps surrounded the room. Nanami stepped in front of you and stared down at the higher ups.

"Not to be disrespectful but that does not concern you or any of you for that matter," he loosens his tie, heated by such an invasive question. "As of now, I want to enjoy my wife and my wife only. So once WE'RE ready, that will be a discussion between MY wife and I. So with that gentleman, good day." And with that, Nanami grabbed your hand and rushed out the door.

Nanami dragged you further out from the entrance, almost in a trance. Was he angry? Does he... care about you?

-- -- --

Nanami was pissed. So pissed that he didn't even realize he had dragged you both to the entrance of the school.

"Woah, Nanami, I think we're far enough," you said, pulling him back to the present. Nanami turned around and took in a deep breath. He couldn't believe he lost his cool... in front of the higher ups... in front of you. You probably think he's some creep, going on about when "WE'RE ready" and "MY wife" when you're looking for a way out.

"Nanami, Nanami, NANAMI!" he heard you yell. He turned around and was met with a tight hug.

"Thank you, Kento. Thank you," you said within his chest. Nanami felt his chest warm with joy. He returned the hug without saying a word. He knew that this conversation you two were having needed no words to convey your feelings.

"HEEEY!" a sudden voice yelled.

Is that Gojo?

"NANAMIN!"

It's Gojo.

And it seems like you came to the same conclusion as you pushed Nanami off to greet Gojo.

Why did Nanami's chest hurt all of a sudden?

Word Count: 959

Previous - Masterlist - Next

Author's note: I"M SO SORRY! I know it's been awhile and I apologize! Once I came back from my hauteur, I tried writing this chapter, but I kept getting stuck. not because I didn't know what to write, but because I didn't want to fuck this up. But I finally got over it and here it is, chapter 9!

[proshippers-against-censorship]

Long ask incoming so i really apologise for that lol.

in my honest opinion yaelokre is going about this incredibly wrong. but the way people have been talking about not only their characters (to be clear im not saying this because of "blah blah they're children" fake morality stuff or whatever lmao im a proshipper myself—but one of the main characters is quite literally meant to represent/be keath themself) but about them themself (sending them rape threats, threatening to draw them having sex with their characters?? I've seen a lot on the internet these past couple days, especially in proship spaces, which is so upsetting to me because I had so much more faith in our community 😭)... All this is incredibly disgusting to watch. and disheartening.

Are they going about this incredibly irresponsibly? Yes! Is it naive for them to expect that no rule 34 is created whatsoever? Yeah, probably! But they did explicitly say they dont want the characters directly representing their own childhood (including one who's basically their own persona) sexualised, much less have it sent directly to them (which it was—that's how we even got to this point, anyway) and going ahead and mocking this boundary directly, and then encouraging people to do it out of spite feels... off to me. dunno. (To be clear i think, once again, their actions are incredibly dumb and irresponsible. They're not justified in doing any of that and im not trying to say they are lol.)

(And, while we're here, there's a difference between gigantic heavily funded capitalist projects like disney, and Some Guy working on one deeply personal thing all by themself for free. Do whatever you want with like. Thousand dollar franchises with no specific human faces behind them, but it feels so weird to tear into someone's passion project theyre making out of love for free. Idk where else in my message this point fits so I'm leaving it here.)

I can't help but be reminded of antis tearing into my own work to "fix" it simply because i was a proshipper. On paper people can do whatever they want with fiction, can't they? Of course—but taking a story i made to cope with my trauma and spitefully twisting it to their own wants for no reason other than because I was a proshipper is still harrassment, still done with malice, and—proship/anti stuff removed—an objectively fucked up and mean fucking thing to do. Artists making shit for free do not owe you anything and that includes not owing you their comfortability with people interacting with their personal projects they are sharing with others (for free!! When they don't have to!!!) in certain ways. The same way they also don't owe you being comfortable with unprompted criticism and whatever else.

The "fiction is fiction" argument doesn't hold up when it starts to hurt real people. They aren't a bad person simply for not wanting their personal project sexualised (which—you could argue "that's not the problem, the problem is how theyre going about handling it it," which i agree with; but there are several posts on this very blog and countless others mocking them entirely for simply wanting their work not sexualised, and several posts encouraging others to make sexual content of their characters out of spite. Im not saying it's sexual harrassment but god it does start to feel like it's somewhere in that realm.) This isn't the first time anything like this has happened in their community, ive been here since the beginning, and in the beginning they were so unbelievably calm and polite about their boundaries and then people started directly dming them nsfw and things spiraled and here we are.

I've used the pottery analogy to explain this before—imagine someone puts a ceramic sculpture down on a table. It belongs to them, and they're very clearly proud of it. You could push it off the table and break it if it makes you happy, you won't even face any real consequences if you do. They'll just be really upset, rightfully so—it's their thing that they physically made. Maybe they even made it as a coping mechanism, only they know for sure. And they ask you to handle it gently if you decide pick it up. There's a billion things you theoretically could do, having now been made aware of this clear boundary, but only two are right—either handling it gently, or simply not picking it up in the first place.

You're a shitty person if you push it off the table. Using excuses like "there are lots of people in this room, someone was going to decide to break it eventually" doesn't suddenly absolve you morally because you are a sentient being, not a mindless robot slaving to statistics. Maybe statistically it was going to get broken eventually, it still doesn't make it right because you chose to break it yourself, directly going against what they asked you to do when handling their property, simply because it made you happy. I know full well you would not purposely damage or otherwise ignore clear boundaries or guidelines when it comes to someone's physical shit in real life. The concept of having boundaries about your own things that you made and own is not new and having to follow others' boundaries is not you being oppressed it's just being a decent human being.

Fictional characters' feelings don't matter more than real peoples'. But your own real person feelings of Mild Disappointment at not being to make porn for something you (evidently) don't even like that much ALSO don't matter more than the creator's massive upset and discomfort at direct representations of them (real person!!!) being sexualised.

TL;DR: yeah it's stupid of them to try to Anne Rice this whole situation. And yes they deserve to be called out for it and face the consequences for their actions. But let's... not treat them like it's so bafflingly unreasonable and evil of them for simply not wanting people to sexualise characters who are meant to be a direct representation of them (real person!!!!) as a child and let's EXTRA not break their boundaries even further. Their actions are stupid, yes. But their desires are like. A perfectly normal thing to want, if a little naive. harrassment is still harrassment. Being spiteful and vicious isn't suddenly okay when you're on the "right side" with the Right Opinions doing it. Being anti-harrassment doesn't only apply to people you like.

This ask isn't meant to come off as hostile or mean or anything so I sincerely apologise if it does. Wishing you the best. I also apologise if anything in this ask reads wrong it's late at night and im recovering from a concussion lol.

Fair enough.

I'm team 'break rules, not boundaries'.

By all means, show their Anne Rice approach is stupid by creating nsfw and properly tagging it and posting it to proper spaces. Fill R34 with that. Create nsfw fanworks on AO3 with proper tags. Go ham. But they clearly don't want to see it, so don't send it to them.

You wouldn't send porn of characters to any other creator without them asking. And you shouldn't be sending rape threats either. That's fucked up.

There's a difference between acting out of spite and acting out of malice, and I won't dispute the fact that some people are taking things quite far and doing the latter.

You can say a rule is dumb without taking steps to directly harm.

[radiant-reid]

Oh! Okay good so I was thinking about an enemies to lovers blurb where Spencer despises reader and she despises him but they have been hooking up and she’s been avoiding him because she ended up getting 🤰 pregnant

He eventually finds out and then they like talk it out and all that mushy stuff? 💘

this could be a whole series or full length fic

"What's wrong with her?" Spencer finally breaks and asks JJ, looking across the jet at you. You hadn't even glared at him for a few days and he's... well, he'd be worried if he cared about you, but that's something he doesn't feel.

Anyway, it's strange for you to just be sitting there. You're being strange and it's making him feel strange.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe someone she has to spend a lot of time with hates her for no reason," JJ replies sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him.

He scoffs. "It's not like she doesn't feel the same."

"Well, someone felt it first." She says, and Spencer can't tell if he's being scolded.

"And someone initiated the hate sex." Emily jumps into the conversation, taking the seat next to JJ.

His eyes widen at that in shock. "Who told you?"

It's a dumb question, and Emily makes that known. "The only other person in the room when it happened, or so I'm guessing."

He doesn't say anything about how you were begging for it that night, and every night after because he's not a total dick, especially if it's not directly to you.

"She's still being weird." He repeats. "Not that I care. It's offputting weird, not quirky weird." He quickly clarifies.

JJ and Emily share a look, making sure he catches it so he knows how absurd his lie sounds.

"Talk to her then," JJ suggests.

Her words replay in his head the whole way back to Quantico, as he tries to profile you while pretending to be reading.

He can't help but corner you back at the BAU floor, dragging you to the supply closet you've fucked in numerous times.

You don't want to be there, so close to him. "We're not doing this now." You tell him. "I don't want to do this ever again actually."

"That's why you're being weird?" He asks, frowning as he, again, tries to profile you. He has no luck. Damn you for hiding your emotions so well.

You scoff, rolling your eyes. "Yes, Spencer. Sleeping with you has been so amazing that I'm acting weird because I can't do it again." You answer sarcastically.

It presses his buttons. "Tell me." He demands.

You shake your head, tilting your chin up to try and stop the tears spilling out of your eyes. "No." With that, you push past him, walking out of the closet and leaving him to his confusion and spiraling thoughts.

What he doesn't expect is Penelope pulling him into her Batcave on his walk back to the bullpen. "What's wrong?" He asks, even more alarmed, and hoping she doesn't know as well.

"What do you mean what's wrong?" She asks. It's a tone that wouldn't sound mad to most people, but it's the most frantic Spencer has heard her voice, aside from on the phone during takedowns. "What Y/n just told you is big news. You don't leave someone alone after they tell you they're pregnant unless you're a terrible person. And I don't want to believe that about you."

"She's what?" The sentence is so lightly spoken Penelope wouldn't have caught it has she not needed to stop to take a breath during her ramble.

His whole world stops, and hers does when she realizes the look painted on Spencer's face is pure shock. He doesn't know. And she told him. And he can't keep a single thought in his head for long enough to develop it into words.

"I'll go get her." Penelope decides, feeling awkward and terrible all at once. "Sit down, you look like you're going to faint."

He does what she wants, sitting there in silence until you walk in, cheeks redder than before with clear signs you've been crying.

"Hey." You say, sitting down on the other chair in Penelope's office.

"Is it true?" He asks, needing confirmation, even though he's already convinced.

You sigh. "I mean, you said I was being weird."

He doesn't know what to say, but all he can think about is you. "I didn't-"

"It's fine." You assure him. "I don't expect you to be nice to me."

"I should be." He confesses before he can stop it. "I should have been because you're...great." Just a tiny half-compliment knocks you off guard. "And I wish you didn't look so shocked when I say something nice."

"Sorry." You apologize, biting your bottom lip.

He shakes his head. "I don't want that."

"What do you want?" You ask, seriously confused about what he's wanting. It feels like a mind game, but you're too emotional to be competing with him.

"You." He blurts out. "Not sexually. I- I think you're wonderful, and I've been the absolute worst person so I understand if you don't want anything to do with me."

Despite your state of shock, which might now be permanent, you shake your head. "I do. That wasn't who I was, you have to know that." He nods in assurance. "And this is so unconventional, but there's something between us, right?"

"Absolutely." He agrees, reaching out to touch your hand. "And I think maybe this could work."

You smile for the first time in a week. "Me too."

[the-24-7-lawlu-library]

Hi! Just read this fic (https://archiveofourown.org/works/33748141) and the post that inspired it (https://ladycrimsonandblack.tumblr.com/post/658164849325604866/brawltogethernow-brawltogethernow-tama-gives), and was wondering if you knew any other fics where Luffy is a Fae or a Changeling or just not really human? Thanks!

Hello ! Sorry this took us a while, as it seems there are very few fics that fall under that category, but here's what we've got for you:

The closest that comes to mind is :

Wild Wind At Dressrosa by khepiari (M)

[Mod notes: I am personally recommending this one as it is set in a world of magical realism. Luffy is not explicitly a magical creature, but there is certainly a certain magic and mystery surrounding him, which gives this story a whole air of surrealness and fairy tales.]

Doflamingo has troubles- to govern Dressrosa, collect taxes for the King, a womanizing Secretary, a stupid Brother, an angry Wife and a Rebelling Son who is romancing the Biggest Troublemaker- a Wayfaring Godless Curio-Shopkeeper, who is storming the calm streets of Dressrosa. Law's heart is hell-bent to unite with the Wild Wind called Monkey D Luffy- a tale of food, books, friendship and love.

The Moonwitch And His Dumb Werewolf (also) by khepiari (T)

A.U., Fantasy. Happy Ending. Three Part. LawLu (Switch Couple) When his village gets burned down and family captured by the bounty hunters, a young werewolf pup, Luffy, finds himself in the protection of a witch boy named Law and his father Corazon. As the war ravages, the magical creatures must unite to fight their biggest enemies; humans.

Perfect Completion by quackquackcey (E)

Water sprite Luffy curiously happens upon a gathering of vampires and falls at first sight for a certain golden-eyed vampire…but will his feelings be returned?~

A Crown of Flowers by @hyperbolicreverie (M)

The Wild is a mirror, a magic realm of possibility parallel to the mundane one, and people like Luffy, changelings who've made a devil's bargain for power, walk the line between worlds daily. When Luffy makes a mad dash to rescue his brother from certain death, he sets off a chain of events that makes the very foundations of that realm shudder. Soon, he's got several other people along for the ride, and the situation quickly spirals out of control. There's something the people in power aren't saying, and it might be the key to all the strange events that keep happening around them. Luffy just wants adventure and fun and freedom. Law just wants to be left alone to live his life. Kid wants to never be beholden to someone else again. And Ace just wants some goddamn agency for once. But there are other entities in the Wild with agendas of their own, and they don't care about what others want at all.

How To Snare A Life by xairylle (E)

Accidentally ensnaring a parasitic sexual demon and being his host wasn't exactly how Law wanted to end his night or his life for that matter. LawLu/LuLaw.

A Fleeting Moment (When the Sun Can Kiss the Moon) by purplehairedwonder (T)

Once upon a time, the Sun fell in love with the Moon.

[We also recommend checking the #Sun God Luffy tag for godly Luffy material.

And finally, not Fae Luffy, but we'd like to recommend Fae Law]

To Give You My Name by cosmicatta (M)

Trafalgar Law, last of the faes, had committed a fatal mistake 15 years ago: he had given Doflamingo his full name. Now, even after having escaped, the looming threat of his ownership still follows Law everyhwere he goes. He can only try to survive as a runaway, hoping to, someday, find a way to cut the invisible string tying him to his former captor. Until he meets Luffy. He’s just a regular human. But maybe that’s all Law needs.

And, ofc, the one you recommended:

waters of the wild by ladycrimsonandblack (T)

Even to his nakama, Luffy sometimes appears just a little bit too odd. (Or: Five times a Straw Hat notices something strange about Luffy, and the one time someone knows what's going on.)

We're also happy to tell you that your ask prompted some of our writers to give Fae Luffy a shot, so expect some new fics under that tag soon enough.

-Mod Gigi

[princess-of-the-corner]

Fascinating on No Chloe AU.

It's probably because of There's More Magic Out There, but I'm picturing Sabrina falling in with Auroré and co. I do think the 2nd option is most likely. So maybe Auroré and Mirielle and whoever the hell their friends are do genuinely like Sabrina and are nice to her and treat her as an equal, but may not notice that she's spread too thin and taking on too much when she offers to "help" with their homework.

I did mean Kim replaces Chloe as Class Asshole, in that he is simply the most consistent problem because he's the jerk in their class. 100% agree that there are probably a lot of other bullies in the school that target similar people for similar reasons, they're just also not in class with those people all day.

While I do think Marinette probably still has the Ladybug, it's true that there's probably no Adrien as Chat without him going to public school. Not unless Fu meets him a different way that day. While there's a convincing argument that the Black Cat would probably be like Nino or somebody, I like the idea that Adrien met Fu some other way. He'd successfully snuck out to go and be a regular teenager for a day and had to give that up to help Fu. Instead of going to school, he was just, like, at a park or something.

This is interesting because it means that Ladybug and Chat now have the dynamic that they THINK they have in canon: that is, the two of them are strangers who get along too well and are slowly falling in love with each other. With a catch: no love square. It's possible Marinette could have another crush at the time (especially if we're using Derision), but I think it's just as likely and more entertaining if she doesn't.

But also if we're using Derision, then Marinette doesn't have crazy paranoia surrounding her crushes and behaves like a functional human being. I think she might behave more like a regular teenager in love, meaning she's willing to do some dumb and risky stuff. Like telling the person she's in love with and who regularly and openly confesses his feelings her identity.

Weirdly, I think it may be ADRIEN who's paranoid about exposing his identity for the same reasons he doesn't reveal personal details online. This is a shockingly similar situation, and he's comfortable with it and knows how to deal with it. I think he might wiffle-waffle a little before they do a reveal.

From there, you could go a couple different directions.

1) You have an early LadyNoir reveal that spirals into a "Marinette's quest to get Adrien friends" that probably spirals into an early Hawkmoth reveal.

2) Master Fu and Tikki successfully pressure Marinette into being paranoid and this cements Adrien's paranoia. So you have LadyNoir, but without the early reveal

3) Master Fu takes more of an interest in Adrien due to either the different circumstances he met him in or because he thinks Adrien is more likely to take his side RE: Identites. So you end out getting a reversal of their canon dynamics with Adrien wanting to keep things a secret and Marinette constantly wanting to do a reveal and/or get into a relationship.

Any of these options would also have the hurdle of: Adrien in a No Chloe AU is super awkward, has trouble expressing affection and sharing personal details, only has Felix for a phrame of reference for in person friends, and is essentially a lot closer to his PV self's personality. But less cold and more shy.

If we're not taking Derision, then Marinette's still probably weird about relationships, but Adrien is weird about them in turn and you end up with something similar to option 2 with more stalking. I feel like Adrien would find it similarly endearing as he does in canon, even if he shouldn't.

tbh I think we could still wind up with a Lovesquare via career paths like.

Marinette wants to be a designer and idolizes Gabriel. Gabe did that whole hat contest in Mr. Pigeon, which Mari won and so she got to come to the show and Adrien wore her hat. So they'd likely meet here and could start some kind of friendship.

Also one reason I can't take Derision into account is that Mari is only that level of obsessive nuts when it comes to Adrien. She doesn't have the same stalker behavior with Chat or Luka, just Adrien.

Either way they're both disasters.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie and these last few days have been a ride, to say the least. I am not feeling very normal about anything going on myself, how are you?? We're not even on the same day as the episode and everything already feels unhinged. Masks?? Confessions?? BUDDIE HOLDING HANDS (in front of the tree)??!! I have never hoped so much (a mistake I know) that we are living in the best timeline and I suppose in less then 24 hours we'll see how insane it is to do that.

Anyway my "saving it for an episode emergency" wine is toast after today (todo list: replace that before tomorrow's episode) and thought I'd share my dumb spec for this episode. So not dumb is BT bones are obviously happening (like seriously, windex couldn't make it any clearer at this point) and I do think the Eddie-takes-care-of-Buck while treeman-cowers-in-fear is going to play a role in that, but I can't help thinking of the choice to have the mummy in Eddie's old bachelor party clothes. Like its kinda weird to have that specific outfit back in "masks" of all episodes, but maybe its not so much for the symbolism but just to remind the audience that that was a whole thing. Because what if one of our boys, via meditation or mummy curse or whatever (I'm not picky) actually remembers what happened that night?? And it, er, it wasn't exactly strictly platonic?? So one of them has to confront exactly what that means and we end up with (at least one) third party confession. I'd like to see it. But either way I feel like for sure next episode will end with Buck at least realizing he's been putting on a mask with his current relationship, and its covering up who he really wants, and I for one can't wait to see it. Less than 24 hours my friend, let's hope they don't do anything else insane before then 🥂.

Good morning friend! I'm glad you sent this last night because with the banger d20 ep last night and the pettiness and excitement about tonight, I just KNOW I'm gonna be put in post limit jail SO early, so I'm getting this out now while I can!

What a month these last couple days have been! I am feeling unhinged and damn is it hard not to get my hopes up! 🤪

I am *desperately* hoping that we see a bachelor party flashback in the next couple episodes! I would be happy with either Buck or Eddie, but not Buck if he's still clinging on to Tree #3, because I don't want the guilt spiral or him breaking it off because he "did something wrong". He really does for once need to recognize (on screen for the audience to share with him) that he is not being treated well in a relationship and leave. (Justice for the BT 1.0 breakup we SHOULD have had in 5a but FOX sucks.)

And now we have a scene (that to be fair I haven't watched because I like going in if not blind, at least not having watched big chucks of the episode yet) that once again shows Eddie knowing and loving Buck to his weird, superstitious core, and his BF being the odd man out, once again putting others down as a way to get laughs at work, and not knowing who is married to Buck's dad, Bobby, months after saving her and her and being together with Buck all this time. No wonder Oliver has been so excited! That man is a menace and petty bench and I love him SO MUCH.

Cheers my friend, I'm probably not going to have to drive home since my car is in the shop so I plan to have a drink and enjoy the chaos! Fun Halloween episode after 84 years, let's fucking gooooo! (Because the Denny stuff is not real, I do not SEE, I do not PERCEIVE.)

[oldguardleatherdog]

Getting into “pup space” and staying connected: a step-by-step approach

For pup players, achieving “pup space” - also known as "pup head" or "dog head", where your inner canine spirit comes to the fore as your primary sense of self-awareness and your human capacity fades into the background for a while - is our goal each time we're on all fours. Finding a consistent and dependable way to get there and maintain that connection can be challenging and frustrating.

Getting ourselves reliably "down there" - another term I like to use for inhabiting the realm of dog, the environment from a dog's perspective two feet off the floor where we inhabit a physical plane and level all our own, where the pup head can be sustained as we move through space - takes time and practice, just like learning a martial art or taking music lessons.

And like Brazilian jiu-jitsu and playing the trumpet, focused study of the elements that can induce pup space, combined with daily reinforcement of what we learn from that study – e.g., techniques, styles, movement breakdowns and Aikido forms, major and minor scales on your instrument - is the best way to achieve consistency. Practice makes perfect. Each time we go down to all fours, we go down more smoothly and quickly, we go deeper into pup space, and we can stay down there a little longer each time.

When I’m coming from a “cold” physical and mental stance, i.e., the times when I’m out of my normal constant light trance state and have been required to be “fully human” – 100% human, 0% dog – for an extended period, I have a routine to launch me back into pup space that’s tailored specifically for a cold start.

Going cold happens under certain conditions when I’m away from my home/kennel environment: if I’ve been traveling for more than two nights; after a meeting away from home that doesn’t involve kink (yes, it happens for lifestylers too); even at home if Master’s been away for a week and there was no boarding kennel or dog-sitter available to look after me.

Here's my “Cold Start” sequence:

It begins with the body. From a relaxed state, positioned on the edge of a couch or chair, wearing my pup gear, centered, balanced, leaning slightly forward from the waist, hind paws easily on the ground, front paws on knees, arms relaxed. My body posture and stance are inclined downward. My breathing is regular, centered, from my diaphragm (not my chest), then…

Sounds start coming out. The air I exhale just grazes my voice box enough to make a slight low sound “mmm” – lips together, then open to “huuuuuuh, huuuuuh…” and then a more animalistic “ahhrrrrr, ahrrrrr”. If you have a screen nearby, load it up with spirals or similar hypno images (there are many excellent pup spirals on Discord and YT, collect ‘em all!); if not, focus on a spot ahead of you about 2 feet off the ground. If you start to glaze over or blur, go with it (if it makes you uncomfortable, pull up and refocus/reset, then go back into relaxed stance).

Words begin, then degrade. Starting with fully-articulated human words, a three-word simple phrase -“Good boy Bruzr” – I repeat the phrase audibly in a half-whisper just loud enough for me to hear it, and as I look at my spot and feel myself heading down and forward to that spot [dog wants to see and sniff it already], I’m half-aware of my paws coming from my knees up to my chest and they start rubbing the sensitive spots (I’d stroke myself if I could but in this kennel, dogs don’t touch themselves, haven’t done it in 14 years for real).

As I repeat my doggy mantra, my tongue lolls out, making my words degrade into unintelligible speech, becoming “owooo, owooo, owooo” and I lean forward and down, then –

[gotta smell the spot NOW] and boom! I hit the ground, full-on 100% dopey happy dumb mutt Bruzr, just the way Master likes it, barking up a storm and howling my head off! and I'm where I belong, where I'm meant to be.

It's a repeatable process - a sequence of actions that I step through the same way each time I start from cold, involving body, sound, light self-hypnosis, breathing and relaxation, and a moderate nudge I give myself by speeding up my breath to rev up for the launch off the couch.

This all comes together to set up an unobstructed flow of energy starting at my physical center of breath (your breath is the closest thing to your spirit and serves as a key to unlock its power), taking my body to all fours in a smooth, unified, natural way.

I want to emphasize that this set of techniques is what works for me. How did I settle on this sequence? Practice, practice, practice. Trial and error over decades, going up and down thousands of times. But that doesn't mean you need to log that kind of mileage to get consistent and effective results!

You can do this solo. It’s important to be able to achieve pup space connection when we are alone; this is how confidence in a sense of the “pup self” is developed and made stronger.

If you want to try this method out and see how it fits, you can follow the steps and techniques as I describe them here, and/or you can take this sequence and use it as a flexible template, a baseline for creating your own sequence using elements (music, lighting, indoors/outdoors, etc.) that help you achieve relaxation and focus.

Change your usual setting. Experiment with your starting posture and stance. For vocalizing, play with sounds and words until you find that “sweet spot” that flows smoothly. Got a playlist you like that helps you trance out or get motivated? Let it rip!

One more thing: Be easy on yourself. No one, regardless of how long they've been a pup, achieves a 100% connection to full headspace 100% of the time - it’s ok to be frustrated. Keep practicing and give it the time you need and deserve.

During a play session, it's not uncommon for the link to fade and reset multiple times. Years ago, I was given a helpful trigger: When the connection drops, I take a deep breath and expel it with the same “ahrrrrr” sound I used in my sequence, restoring the connection and taking me deeper into pup space.

Don’t sweat it when it happens; jump right back and reset the connection. Our link to pup space can be mischievous and quirky, just like us! You’re not “doing it wrong” – there’s no such thing in Pup Play – you’re persistent, determined, doggedly sniffing out that signal! Trust that your connection will strengthen and become more persistent over time.

Practice, explore, refine, find what works, do it regularly and often, and you will be rewarded with positive results and deeper, dependable connections.

Thanks for reading! You’re the best pup! Yes, you are!

In Service,

Alpha Pup Bruzr (Animal J. Smith)

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

As for Hiccup's downward spiral in the post-Httyd 2 comic trilogy, really makes me think back to Stoick instilling the message in Hiccup to not seek vengeance in RttE's "The Longest Day."

"I won't lie to you, son. A good measure of vengeance can go down a treat-- But that feeling is short-lived and the violence only gets worse-"

This is what Stoick tells Hiccup in that episode and these words come from a man who has led himself be taken by vengeance. To the point even that he was almost named Chief Stoick the Vindictive.

And then a little later in that same season, in the episode "Shell Shocked: Part 1," when Stoick is face to face with Viggo for the very first time, his first instinct is to strangle him.

"You come after my son. You come after my home. Now you get to deal with me!"- Stoick

"Dad, wait! Revenge is not a plan. Remember." - Hiccup

"That was for you. For me, it goes down a treat." - Stoick

That is the interaction between father and son as Stoick is seconds away from dishing some of that famous cold dish on Viggo after bringing both his son and his people harm. It's very obvious that these lessons Stoick has been instilling into his son don't seem to count for him.

And probably for a good reason, too. Stoick makes a comment that Hiccup "is just like his mother" when it comes to stubbornness, but I would make the unsurprising argument that Hiccup takes just as much after his father as he does his mother.

That sense of duty to his village as he grows older? His father. His patience and ability to hold back? His father. His pride? His father. Even Gobber says during the battle with the Red Death; "Every bit the boar-headed stubborn Viking you ever were." So while Stoick likens Hiccup to his mother, Gobber likens Hiccup to his father.

So what about that vindictive streak in Stoick that has popped up in Hiccup from time to time in the franchise?

Tl,dr: Hiccup has a history of getting back at people in some way or other and does it more often when he's under stress. Stoick knows about this side to his son. This side of him gets cranked up to 11 after his father's death.

The long story is under the "keep reading."

RoB

The very first example that comes to mind is; "In Dragons We Trust."

In this episode Hiccup and the Riders have this exchange:

The episode then cuts to the next scene and, lo and behold, Astrid is wearing a sash that says "Dragon United Monitoring Brigade," a.k.a "D.U.M.B." A name a Berkian woman points out, to which Astrid says "Yes, that is correct. Not my idea." and this is then followed up by Astrid giving the woman to instruction to yell "DUMB" at the top of the lungs in case of dragon problems.

"Permission to shoot first and ask questions later!" - Ruffnut

"Permission to skip the questions!" - Tuffnut

"We're just patrolling! Nobody is shooting anyone." - Hiccup

"Okay, I have a question; what's fun about that?" - Tuffnut

"It's not supposed to be fun it's a Hiccup idea." - Astrid

"Exactly- What?!" - Hiccup

So after calling all of Hiccup's plans boring, he got back at her by having her wear an embarrassing sash and give out embarrassing instructions.

Want more evidence? Then I suggest you look back at that episode and see who's actually wearing the sash.

Astrid, we've already established that. Snotlout, but Hiccup always finds a reason to be upset with him at this point in their friendship.... And that's it. Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Hiccup himself? They're all on patrol, but only two of the six Riders are wearing a sash that says "Dumb."

Then there's RoB's "Portrait of Hiccup as a buff young man," in which Hiccup's search for Hamish's treasure is entirely because he wants to prove that skinny smart Hiccup is better than buff Portrait!Hiccup. He even asks at some point; "How's that for a Hiccup?"

You could make the argument that's what Httyd 1 is all about. Hiccup proving once and for all that he's just fine the way he is, that he doesn't need to be their ideal of a Viking, but that was about acceptance and not vindictiveness.

In this episode, this feels very much more like a "oh, I'll show you!" type of thing specifically because of that line and because Hiccup chose to one-up his father in something he failed to do. A.k.a find Hamish' treasure.

Then there is the famous "Thawfest" episode, which is entirely Hiccup getting back at Snotlout for past Thawfests during the dragon portion until Snotlout's fears of failing in his father's eyes snap him out of it.

Another episode that comes to mind is "When Lightning Strikes," in which Hiccup gets himself hurt in a desperate attempt to prove Toothless' innocence when Mildew has everyone convinced that he's to blame for the recent massive storms on Berk.

This is more of an act of vengeance on the part of Snotlout and the twins as they blame Mildew for the harm that befell Hiccup. They were the ones to come up with and enact this plan, but Hiccup certainly didn't stop them from getting it. He just gave them a "I'm not sure that's what my dad had in mind, guys" and just leaves it at that.

Another good example is "Defiant One," in which Hiccup is once again getting back at Snotlout, this time for getting them crashlanded inside enemy territory and for doing everything in his power to be a nuisance. And what better way to get back at him than to give him a bowl of Toothless' spit and tell him that Night Fury saliva has healing properties after Snotlout has a reaction to eating berries? Again, this is reminiscent of "In Dragons We Trust."

And then there's a part 2 to this particular example as Hiccup brings it up three years later in RttE season 2's "Snotlout Gets the Axe."

"What about flying us into the waterspout and crashlanding us on Outcast Island? That was terrific." - Hiccup

So yeah, great at convincing people to let things go, not so great at letting things go himself.

And who can forget "We Are Family, Part 2," in which Alvin's heckling of Hiccup convinces both him and Toothless to attack him, almost ruining their escape as an ambush was lying in wait. And the specific comment that did it was "That's what I would expect from Stoick's little runt," referring to leaving their business unfinished.

Interestingly enough, it's once again Stoick who tries to stop Hiccup from going, reminding him that they got what they came for (saving Hiccup and Toothless) and that they should just leave. He even tries to stop Hiccup before he even made a move to climb up in Toothless' saddle, because he knew Hiccup was going to go after Alvin for that comment.

Alvin makes his comment, Gobber says "Oh boy," followed immediately by Stoick looking at his son and calling his name. Stoick knew.

DoB

After that two-parter, I think Hiccup must've gotten a scare, because the vindictive streak that was very present in the first season is almost completely absent here.

You could make an argument for "The Night and The Fury"s "You don't need a lot of help with that, Dagur," in response to Dagur's "By making a fool? Out of me?!" But otherwise, very little avenging going on here.

As a matter of fact, I can't remember anytime in which Hiccup makes an attempt at getting back at Dagur, certainly not in DoB. That season he spends more time trying to delegate and even spends time trying to keep Astrid away from the Flightmare that ruined her family's name until she convinces him to help her cut them of before they reach Berk.

This is similar to how Hiccup was also the one to tell Toothless to leave the Whispering Death alive in the RoB episode "What Flies Beneath," long before his conversation with Stoick in RttE.

RttE

Three years later, Hiccup's streak makes a little bit of a return.

For example:

Astrid asks him what "he's up to" when Hiccup suggests they should all make a design for the dragon base and vote on it. Literally she asks him "what are you up to?" as she wasn't expecting Hiccup to agree to any of their ideas. Not a vindictive sign, perse, but definitely a sign that Astrid always expects him to be up to something.

He almost preferred to let the twins burn down their island just so they could see what it's like to be a leader.

He reminds Snotlout of the time he crashlanded them on enemy territory.

Almost takes out Heather for siding with the enemy, not knowing she's acting as a double agent.

Biting sarcasm, which was also very much present in RoB/DoB.

But all of this is pretty low-level, nothing like making a friend wear a sash that says "Dumb" for the entire village to read.

And then Viggo comes along and he gets to Hiccup to the point that he grows obsessed with the need to one him up and take him down.

The Riders call him out on it, Dagur calls him out on it, Stoick feels the need to give him that piece of advice in season 4 that I've stated at the top of this post.

Dagur even has a conversation with Hiccup about how revenge changes a person in season 3's "Enemy of My Enemy."

"Hmm. That stuff can kill you from the inside, Hiccup. Revenge. Anger. Obsession. Trust me, I know. It can make you do things you never thought you were capable of. Cause you to take chances, make mistakes. If that doesn't end you, it'll eat away at you slowly."

Dagur is basically telling Hiccup to let his obsession with Viggo go. But he doesn't. He certainly tries to lighten up when he notices that his obsession at getting back at Viggo causes him to work his friends to the bone. (Which they do. Because they love him and they can see what this obsession is doing to him.) But the need for vengeance doesn't disappear until Viggo's supposed death during the Shell Shocked two-parter. The only one he holds a grudge against then is Gruffnut.

The most notable episode left to talk about then is "No Bark, All Bite." In this episode, Stoick projects his frustrations with Johann onto Hiccup, who gets the brunt of it and who in turn gets frustrated and angry as well. At some point, he even calls his own father a complete idiot. Beyond this episode, nothing of note.

Httyd 2 and Comics

It's in the second movie that we can see that war after war has taken a bit of a toll on Hiccup. By the time he's 20 years old, he has ended four to five of them, so naturally, when Drago comes knocking and immediately proves himself a threat, all Hiccup wants is to avoid conflict as much as possible.

Unfortunately, this original path ends in Stoick's death, even though Hiccup implies a change of mind just before Drago's attack, a diplomatic approach as a last resort ended up fatal for one of his loved ones.

Interestingly enough, something Viggo warned him against in the RttE episode "Triple Cross." The ruthlessness to deal with his foes is there, but so is his goodness, his purity, and that inevitably holds him back.

Until after his father's death and Hiccup falls into a downward spiral in the post-Httyd 2 comic trilogy.

In "The Serpent's Heir," he burns Calder alive, a very brutal way of dealing with a comparatively harmless villain. He also basically shames the Nepenthe's young King Mik into actually working for his village by shoving a shovel in his hands.

"Dragonvine" comes along and when said Dragonvine poisons Toothless and Silkspanners attempt to eat the vine off him and suck the poison out, Hiccup is so petrified by the idea of losing Toothless again that he almost kills the very young Silkspanners in order to save him from more pain.

A clear-headed Hiccup most likely would've noticed what the Silkspanners were trying to do, but this Hiccup didn't. He's mourning his father, angry, afraid. And he is especially afraid of someone taking Toothless away from him like Drago did when he took Toothless' mind and turned him on Hiccup and killed his father.

In "The Fire Tides" it would turn out that Drago had survived when Hiccup is forced to face him once again and pretty much alone as none of the other Riders are there. I don't remember if the interview directly mentions what was going to happen (I think Richard Hamilton left that out on purpose in case the comic ever got published) but I know that whatever happened in this comic was going to be the conclusion to Hiccup's downward spiral following the death of his father.

Either way, Hiccup went from giving his friends dumb sashes and saliva bowls to get back at them to burning an ill man alive. Viggo knew that ruthless was in there and Hiccup sure found it after Httyd 2.

And just like Viggo noticed that, Stoick has been seeing this vindictive streak inside of Hiccup for a long time now. And it's probably a side he's very familiar with as it's one Hiccup probably inherited from him. This led to the lesson he tried to impart to his son in an effort to keep him from going down that same path, but whether that worked or not... Calder would probably say "no."

Anyway, I guess here is where I'll conclude my analysis on Hiccup's more vengeful side.

[toomuchracket]

How did Mrs. Mac react to Girlie being pregnant?

oh i need to tell you the whole story @abiiors and i came up with as to how the macdonalds find out about you being pregnant. post-halloween, when mrs mac flies out to join tour with eilidh (just turned 3) and keir (1), there's a moment when everyone reunites at the hotel and keir is lowkey baffled looking at ross because he's shaved and babies are dumb (so says vee) and sometimes don't recognise people like that. like, we're talking tears from keir and ross (who feels terrible about the whole thing), until baby boy looks properly at ross and seems to realise "oh, there's dad" and it's all fine. we also however get some tears from matty, who goes into an existential spiral about his own unborn child potentially not recognising him when he changes his hair and facial hair every 3 business days; he's crouched on the floor sobbing, and you and eilidh sit down beside him to figure out why, while ross and mrs mac and keir stare at him in bewilderment. you're like "baby, breathe, calm down, what is it?", and matty hiccups through sobs like "i don't want that to happen to me i change my hair all the time what if they never know who i am?", and you're so focused on keeping him from going into a panic attack that you don't even register he's just revealed your news in front of people before the 12 week mark. it isn't until matty's calmed down a bit that eilidh scooches to sit in front of you and joyously asks "is there a baby in your tummy?", and you realise you can't not admit it - you look slightly panicked at matty, then at ross and your friend, then you sigh and smile at eilidh like "we're not meant to say anything yet, but yeah, darling, i'm having a baby. well, we - me and matty - are. keep it a secret for me, though, yeah? we'll tell everyone else a bit later", and eilidh nods like "yeah we'll have a party and tell people then", bless her lol. and you look up at her mum to see her properly welling up, and the next thing you know she's sitting on the floor hugging you and matty like "i'm so so happy for the pair of you oh my god i love you both so much. when are you due?" - when matty says, ross thinks for a second and snorts like "oh, so THAT'S where you went after we left the stage at reading. that'll be a fun story to tell the baby!", and his wife facepalms like "for god's SAKE ross!" while matty giggles. so yeah, it ends up with all of you on the floor of your hotel room just hugging it out, keir poking at ross's dimples and making matty cry again. happy tears this time, though <3

[bruggle]

More dumb stupid drabbles, but this time from the Elf Wars.

"I don't know if anyone has told you," Brook started. "But rule number one of the battlefield is 'do not look for your sniper'. That's how you wind up with dead snipers." Omega huffed. "Why exactly should I care about that?" he asked coldly. "I mean... fair," she replied. "But you might care a little more if a beam weapon or couple of buster shots wind up in your back."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Me? Oh no," Brook smirked. "I'm too much a coward for that. If I'm going to backstab somebody, it's going to be from six hundred meters with a sniper shot to the back of the head. And I definitely wouldn't say anything about it beforehand.

"A Maverick, on the other hand? While you're already fighting off five or six of them at your front? They might take a couple of pot shots where they can. I certainly wouldn't stop them."

Omega glared down at her. But Brook shrugged at him. "It's a simple matter of 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine'," she explained. "You stop looking for me when we're on the battlefield, I make sure nothing can sneak up on you." Scoffing, he turned away. "As if I need your help," Omega sneered. "A'ight," said Brook. "Next mission, I won't clock a single head for you."

"Did ya have fun?" smirked Brook, causing Omega to bristle. "Brook!" X chastised, causing her to roll her eyes. "Oh, fine," she sighed. "Sorry." She did not look sorry at all. "You should have asked if he was winning," Axl grinned, to which Brook let out a wheeze of laughter. "AXL!" X barked. "Do NOT encourage her!" Now Axl rolled his eyes.

"Forgot this was a no fun zone," he complained. "I say we start a coup," Brook grinned. "Great idea!" Axl agreed. "I'll build a guillotine."

"Viva la revolution!"

The two ran off, causing X to shake his head with a half fond, half annoyed smile as he trailed after them. Omega was left by himself, where he narrowed his eyes.

Absolutely pathetic.

"This is boring," Omega growled. "And a waste of skills." Brook rolled her eyes. "Is it?" she asked in a bored tone. He glared at her. "Do not make me repeat myself," he sneered. "This is pointless." She made a non-committal hum. "So saving people is pointless," she said. "Got it. Some messiah you are."

"Excuse me?" Omega hissed. Brook glared right back at him. "What do you think this job is?" she snarled. "What do you think /I've/ been doing when I'm not on a team with X or Axl? This is part of my agreement for working with the Maverick Hunters. This is what I did /before/ I was an official Maverick Hunter."

"I thought you said you've been a Maverick Hunter your whole life," Omega smirked. Brook smirked right back at him, "I have," she said. "Just haven't been official my whole life. You'll have to ask X about that." He pulled a face.

"A clockwork god is still clockwork," Brook sneered. Omega narrowed his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up," Brook growled, causing Omega to snicker. Really, this was the last freaking thing she needed. Grumbling to herself, she wondered how the hell things spiraled so far out of control. First, he threatens her life, then he starts stalking her, and now... this. She had no idea how to piece it all together. Maybe Weil was just really shit at programming. That had to be it. As Brook turned to leave, she noticed far too late the Maverick that had managed to climb it's way up to where they've been standing.

And it's buster was aimed right at her.

Before she could blink, Omega had pulled Brook flush against him; the arm that wasn’t holding his beam saber wrapped firmly around her chest, hand gripping her right shoulder in almost bruising strength. Said saber was held in front of the two of them, which explained why Brook wasn't currently bleeding out. Her head was tucked firmly underneath his chin, and she could feel rather than hear the low rumbling that was going through his chest. She didn't think reploids could growl. Before she could blink again, Omega had already let go and was ripping (literally ripping) the Maverick apart. Brook stumbled back, her legs shaking.

She blamed it on the adrenaline from almost dying.

"What do you want?" Brook asked. "I want what's best for humanity," Omega replied simply. "That's not -" Brook groaned. "Okay, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Where do you start, and where does Weil end?" He turned away from her. Brook hated when they got on this subject. It always became a fight. She opened and then quickly closed her mouth. But she had to ask. "What do you want for yourself?"

Omega never gave her a verbal answer, but the look he sent was loud enough. A shiver that had nothing to do with the cooling air went down her spine, causing her to duck her head.

It scared her how little she minded.

God, she really did need therapy. Didn't she?

It felt like forever until Signas and X finally allowed Brook to leave the room, thoroughly lectured about how she needed to put her own safety and mission above whatever feelings she 'definitely doesn't have' for Omega. It was definitely the absolute worst conversation she has ever had in her life. All she wanted to do now was go to her room and sleep for a thousand years. However, upon turning the corner of the hallway, her heart gave a start. That was until she realized disappointed it was just Zero. He turned to look at her, but she really didn't feel like another lecture. "Whatever it is you're going to say," Brook grumbled. "I assure you; X and Signas have probably already said it." Zero gave her a look that was somewhere between sympathy and 'I'm sure they did'.

"Even if they have," he said, following her as she began towards her room. "I'm still going to say it." Ah, great. Just what she needed. "It shouldn't have come down to you."

She stopped walking. That... that was not what she expected him to say. "What do you -"

"You shouldn't have been the one who was supposed to take him out," Zero said, continuing to walk. "If you had taken that shot, you would have regretted it for the rest of your life."

"Are you speaking from experience?" she asked in a half joking tone. He paused. "Yes,"

Oh.

"Zero?" Brook called, as he had resumed walking. He turned back to her. "...Thank you," she said quietly. She knew he didn't approve. Nobody in their right mind would. But it helped that he at least understood. Zero nodded, then resumed walking. Finally, he left Brook alone with her thoughts.

She didn't sleep much that night.

And it had nothing to do with how terrible the beds were.

[an-aura-about-you]

ok I have eaten some food, got my emotional support tv show on, and have mostly gotten over the weird bout of pity that stopped me in my tracks somewhere in the middle of Chapter 6 of Handbook for Mortals, so let's press on.

Chapter 6 part 2:

when we last left our hero Scheherazade went on a camping trip with the others, I joked about how she doesn't have any friends, and then I kinda bluescreened when she actually told Mac that it was nice pretending she had friends. that was supposed to be a funny ha ha joke I made and it sent me on a weird pity spiral for the author who wrote a self-insert mary sue that gets everything the author's ever wanted and even in that fantasy she doesn't have friends.

so let's keep going after that with the rest of Chapter 6: The Moon

-Mac's conversation with Zade doesn't last much longer after that as Riley pulls him away, which is an opening for the Mean Girl Squad to roll in.

-Sofia and her fellow mean girl Mel (who was awkwardly introduced in another chapter but everybody makes fun of that bit so let's just cut to the chase) approach and flank Zade with Sofia even throwing an arm around Zade's shoulders. Zade also figures Mel is Sofia's closest friend. which, wow, your mean girl antagonist has a friend and you don't? I actually do think that's a bit telling for reasons we're gonna get to in a moment.

-also Zade is sticking to her story that Sofia pushed her after she regained consciousness post-accident:

Maybe she was trying to be nicer since I had saved her life. Somehow I doubted that, considering she still hadn't even thanked me--or even apologized for being mean and pushing me away when I was in the middle of saving her life.

you know what, Zade? you'd probably have more friends if you didn't lie about shit for pity points. yes, it would be nice if Sofia thanked Zade for what she did, but if someone saved my life and then made up shit about what actually happened to make me look bad, I would be less inclined to do it.

-while I know the intention is for Sofia and Mel to taunt Zade that going after Mac is hopeless because he doesn't date performers, Zade is being really judgemental about them. she mentally calls Mel dumb even though Mel hasn't said anything dumb. all she's said is that Mac has a rule about not dating performers and that he lives by his rules, the latter of which we know because he and Zade almost came to blows about it back in Chapter 2.

-Zade claims that she wants to get along with everyone but makes absolutely zero efforts to do this. I mean she could be lying to them, which is possible since we already caught her in a lie on the previous page.

-Zade mentally expresses a desire to spit in their faces. I wouldn't usually think of that as violent, but I'm not sure how many tallies I wanna keep up for Zade and it IS insulting, so I'm adding it to the violent thoughts tally.

-oh jesus christ. Zade talks like a goddamn alien. the whole reason I have trouble with buying that Zade is southern is shit like this:

"Well, as we say in the South, bless your heart...and...uhh...thanks for the advice, or whatever you're calling it, but we are just friends."

look. I can't drop a Bless Your Heart to save my life, but I have been known to drop an, "Oh Honey..." every now and again to similar effect, and that is not how you do it! and earlier when she was talking to Jackson we get a little mental montage of all the stereotypical southern things like sweet tea, fried food, and biscuits and gravy. I've been known to drag sweet tea, but I give it a proper context when I do and don't just randomly mention it as proof that I'm from the south. Zade doesn't feel southern; she feels like she is pretending to be southern and failing miserably.

here, let me see if I can revise this into something at least a little more natural. this is how I would probably do it if I had to write such a scene:

"You're doing all this just to look after me?" I put a hand to my chest, click my tongue, and say, "Well, bless your heart, but I promise I'm a big girl, can tie my own shoelaces and everything. I think I'll just handle my own affairs, thank you kindly."

-"Zade: one; stupid girls: zero," you say? funny, I don't see any stupid girls. Sofia is a bit catty, reckless, and flirty, and... and beautiful... and... and... ough. I think I hauve covid.

anyway, my point is she's not done anything actually stupid. the closest thing was not wearing her safety harness on the catwalk, but we've already been over that and how unfair that whole situation was. I'm not about to say Sofia did nothing wrong, but I'm really pissed off at how stacked the deck is against her.

and this is the only time we've really seen anything with Mel as her only role in her previous scene was carrying out Drew's birthday cake.

Zade is just being pointlessly mean here even after she chided herself all the way back in Chapter 1 that she shouldn't be so judgemental.

-Mell challenges Zade with, "You actually think you're hotter than either one of us?" which is like. a ridiculous thing to ask but not as ridiculous as Zade's answer. which, Zade says she thinks on her answer so it's actually a good one and not just spiteful, but this is what she gives us:

"Physically?" I replied. "No, not a chance. You're both far more beautiful than I am, if we're talking about the outside. But have you ever bothered to see what you look like on the inside? There's a song called 'Ugly Girl' that I swear is about both of you. I'll play it for you sometime."

show of hands, how many of you reading this think Sofia and Mel would laugh at that? I know my hand is up.

-"Sometimes I wished I could be the star in my own movie so at moments like that the song I was thinking of...could start playing." reminder that Zade is aware that she is writing a book. she explicitly establishes all the way back in Chapter 0 that she is aware that she is relating a story to us. my own guess is this is just an awkward reworking of the original movie script this book was adapted from.

-also, for as ugly as Zade claims Sofia and Mel are on the inside, at least they are actually friends. Mel apparently has no skin in this game and doesn't understand why Sofia cares but went along with the mean girl shtick because Sofia asked her to. I mean, yeah, it's not a nice thing that Sofia's asking Mel to do, but it's good to know Sofia can rely on Mel for backup.

-Mel also apparently tried sleeping with Mac once with her only motivation being that he's hot and she'll sleep with anyone hot. I think this is Sarem trying to hit us with some evil promiscuity shit but honestly I love that for Mel. hell yeah have fun girl!!

-Mel doesn't get why Sofia might be interested in trading out Charles for Mac and Sofia is quick to clarify that she's not. that's more or less their conversation as Mel is about to flirt with a hot guy.

-the narration says they were harassing Zade and like. yeah, ok, I will admit that is what they were doing, but they were good at the subtle hand bit of it. they came up to Zade under the guise of offering her friendly advice as a way to needle her and didn't get hostile until Zade sniped back. that's some skill.

-Jackson has seen the whole encounter and takes a moment to simp for Zade by telling Sofia and Mel to their faces that he thinks Zade is hotter than both of them on the outside as well. I'm with Sofia on this one as she ends the chapter by calling Jackson a jerk under her breath.

god. you don't think Sarem would try to get Jackson Rathbone to play Jackson Milsap if she ever gets the movie going, do you? after he's made it public that he doesn't like her. I mean, we know he'd say no unless he's super desperate since Sarem still fully intends to play Zade and I know Zade and Jackson have some kissing scenes later. but then idk if that would even hold up unless this does turn into a Salome/The Room/Breeniverse type thing where Sarem decides to just make it herself. man, if he did end up in it I can see him playing the entire movie like

there he is, a performance with all the charisma of a man who's not sure he should risk a fart because the Taco Bell isn't exactly sitting right with him and calculating the path of least resistance to the nearest toilet just in case. (or possibly wanting to rip some throats out.)